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Great question!To understand the answer there are two concepts to go over: 1) Retrograde Amnesia and 2) How Memory Works?They are related.How Memory Works?Humans have two systems for the storage of information gathered by the senses or constructed, imagined or reduced by the mind - Short-Term Memory and Long Term-Memory. You’ve likely heard that before.Short-Term Memory is what you use to remember a phone number or address or the face of someone you just met when searching for thm in a crowd. A neurologist once describes this to me as the Cut & Paste function from your senses and mind - like your computer screen capture function.Long-Term Memory forms when those Short Term memories are access again and again and again in rapid succession. A guy sees a girl he is interested in and her image will be accessed again and again and again when searching for her in the crowd. A guy sees a human he has no interest in and although he technically for a few minutes could recall that humans features… because he never accesses that short-term stored image, no long term memory is created. Thinking along the line of the screen capture, this is the ‘save it to desktop’ or ‘discard image’ function on your computer.While each human is different and their are memory-freaks among us on both ends of the spectrum… people who can remember everything from everyday and everybody they meet have a unique genetic or acquired/mastered ability to move data from short term memory to long term memory… and then there are people post traumatic brain injury that literally lose this ability and everything, their entire world exists in the 15–20 minutes of short term memory they have or until they sleep.Sleep solidifies long term memory or slowly ‘cleaves’ those neural pathways over time. An injury to particular portions of the brain, if in just the right manner, can destroy the solidification mechanism or can force undiscriminated cleaving of all new memories made while awake. (There have been a few movies made about individuals that can’t remember anything after they sleep)To review: Short-Term Memory (Like a Screen Capture) → 15–20 minutes of repeated access → Long-Term Memory (Save to Desktop) → Increased Repetitive Use of that same data in Log Term Memory → Saved Again and Again to different and more permanent pathways in the human brain. (Saved to BackUp Disk AND Desktop)It takes 3–9 repetitions, for the average human, to ‘remember’ something. Meet someone, use their name (3) times while talking to them and looking in their face and you have a far better chance of remembering them, their name and their face than if you take their business card while looking down at the floor and say thank you.Retrograde Amnesia:Basically, it is the disruption by trauma or chemicals to the above mechanism.Both of my youngest boys compete in Sport Karate. They have risen to the National level for several years and in the many matches they have competed, they have been tagged on the head a few times. As both their parents are anesthesiologists, we are acutely aware of the signs of concussion, and thankfully, our kids have never shown acute signs during a match. As a ring-side medical person, and everyone knows I am doctor, I get asked by parents and even some coaches to ‘look at’ their child after a hit or a fall or even 10 minutes after a match altogether.While I know all the mechanics and forces involved, it never ceases to amaze me how two kids can take nearly the exact same force to the head and one is concussed and the other is fine. So, picture a karate match and contact to head occurs. The competitor is asked if they are okay and if they answer in any way other than an emphatic, “Good to go,” the medical team looks them over as they have one minute to decide to continue with the bout or withdrawal for medical reasons. When the kid is a member of our team, I generally get signalled to go over. I ask something like this (even if I did see it) “I’m Dr. Chris, I didn’t see it, how did you get hit?”“What hit?”“I got hit?”“Did I hurt them?”etc, etc… I have gotten about 10 of these concussion-probable answers over 10 years watching nearly 1,000 matches with my kids being in about 150 of those.Then I ask, “I know this will sound silly but me, Dr. Chris, and the rest of the medical team here doesn't know you, can you tell them you full name?” Only one kid ever had to think about it and then began crying - he was in a E.R. about 15 minutes later, scan negative but definite concussion. “Okay, that’s great, which city are we in for this competition?” There is a difference between a child just not knowing what city they are in currently and they reflexively look at their parent or coach and ‘guess’ sometimes saying the State or close major city… and the look of panic and disorientation you see flash in the eyes of someone who knows they should know. It’s funny in that moment when the medical personnel, the coach, the parent and me all conclude, they’re done for the day simultaneously. That’s happened 3–4 times.Most answer the question, “How about the date, you know what today is?” Again, same parameters as above. I also do the physical examination simultaneously or watch it being performed by another.Here’s where retrograde amnesia comes in, “That’s great, you feel like continuing the match?” Some say Yes and finish, others are just done and they do not want to go back and they would rather have ‘us’ medical people pull them than go back in the ring, at least at the younger ages. Regardless, “Okay, good to meet you, I’m Dr. Chris and I’ll check on you in a little bit.” I follow the kid’s match or where they go with their parent and then go over and ask…“Do you remember my name?” I purposely work it in three times so that their memory has a chance to at least capture it in short-term memory. I see them about 5 minutes later, so that information should be available to them.If they remember I say, “Good memory, can I ask you to remember three things for, simple things?” If they do not remember, “No worries, you were competing, but would it be okay to have you try to remember three simple things?”I pick things like, “Ball” or “Block” and “Water” or Wet” and a color, such as, “Yellow” or “Red” or “Blue” - repeat these things each three times and often have them say them back to me once or twice. I set a timer on my phone and go back and ask at 5 minutes, 15 minutes and 30 minutes.What I am ‘testing’ is retrograde amnesia. By purposely doing things that would cause 99.99% of the population to be able to recall at least 2 of the 3 items or words… if they remember at 5 minutes but not at 15 minutes or 30 minutes… they got hit hard enough for the trauma to disrupt the process of memory formation in the long-term memory… thus they ‘lose’ the before 15–20 minutes of time and memories from their short-term memory not being able to ‘save’ those things to long-term memory.Obviously, when this occurs, the concussion protocol goes into effect and kids follow up appropriately. Occasionally, at The US Open and Nationals I can see the kids the following day watching teammates compete or at finals and get a good sense of their immediate recovery.We Anesthesiologists can do that with drugs.Versed is an exceptional medication at causing retrograde amnesia. Versed or (midazolam) is a drug usually used for pre-anesthesia sedation in adults and children. For adults, it can be utilized for uncomfortable procedures such as colonoscopies because it produces superior memory loss especially with coupled with other synergistic medications that anesthetists use. It is a benzodiazepine and a central nervous system depressant - like Valium or Alcohol.Black-Out drinking… at some point along the intoxication scale, alcohol disconnects or depresses the central nervous system’s or brain’s capability to move the short term memory to long term memory. The severely intoxicated individual can operate or function; talking, singing, dancing, partying for hours and hours with absolutely no long-term memories being made - the following day this is experienced as a blackout period of time from the previous evening.Versed can do this in 90 seconds to you.You arrive for surgery. You changed, get on the cart and arrive in Pre-Op. Things are checked, re-checked and checked again. Surgeon peeks in, signatures all done. IV started. With the all clear from the OR you are going to, the anesthesia provider will give you Versed or alternatives or perhaps smaller doses of synergist medications. This is decided case-by-case based on medical history, anesthesia history, weight, age, other medications chronically used, vital signs, etc - Yes, we think of all that before decide what and how much to give you IV.So, IF they give you IV, you say adios to your friends or family member and head straight to the OR, you might remember getting to the OR but not moving over to the table. In some surgery centers, the ORs are so close, you may remember moving over to the table. IF the Versed dose they gave you was ‘light’ then you may remember breathing in a mask and counting backwards from 10 (By the way, I only did that for the patients that said, “Doc, is this where I count backwards from ten?” → “Sure, knock yourself out.” I would reply as I pushed the induction drugs and rendered them completely unconscious in seconds. IF the dose was a little heavy in Pre-Op then patients say things afterwards like, “I do not even remember getting the IV!”That is the retrograde amnestic effect. It takes time to move memories from short-term to long-term and if chemically interrupted you ‘lose’ the previous 15–20 minutes memories.There is no one-size one-outcome method to anesthesiology and so everyone who experiences anesthesia is on a continuum of experiences and outcomes.Okay - so at the end of surgery what happens?Generally, for small procedures, we anesthesiologist wake you up in the ORs, even sometime before the last stitch is in or the dressing or cast is applied. Why can we do this routinely and almost no one 9,999/10,000 can not remember at all? This, while like, retrograde amnesia, is a little different.The process of Short-Term Memory Formation and Transfer to Long-Term Memory is a fluid and continuous brain-process. While ‘under’ anesthesia… there is no memory at all being formed because the neural impulses cease to happen. Once we ‘wake you up’ the entire mechanism has to restart. You go on vacation, you turn off your home computer. You return a week later and turn it on, it makes some noise, fans come on, a ‘loading screen’ appears, after 1–3 minutes another screen appears and then finally you see your desktop… you move the mouse or trackpad and the stupid cursor doesn’t move right away, then it does. Your “Enter Password” appears in the center of the screen and your keyboard lags and then you can enter the characters. Then, finally, it is working as it did before and you can do your computer work.Brain. Same thing. The ‘operating system’ takes time to load and each human is different. Generally though, that first 15–20 minutes after being ‘under’ anesthesia those memories have no long-term place to go and so they are lost. After 20 minutes or so, the short-term memory hooks back up with the long-term memory formation and you then remember ‘being in the recovery area.’However, each individual patient has a different metabolism and effect to the different medications… For some people this process does not take 20, or 30 minutes, it takes an hour or more. More than half of patients remember the secondary recovery (where they put their own clothes back on) but have no recall of the PACU at all… even though they were there for an hour!I hope that helps you understand better what happened to you,~ChrisDr. Christopher YeringtonColumbus, OhioBio: Retired from clinical anesthesiology by a disability in 2010, Dr. Yerington has turned his love of teaching and service to others to his family, medical colleagues and community. He speaks, writes and educates medical groups and residency programs about the importance of great disability and life insurance, basic physician-financial literacy and work-life balance. Chris also consoles and counsels young doctors on stress, burnout and physician-suicide. Having attended law and business schools, Chris is a perpetual student of human life, a scientist and an optimistic futurist in his heart.

Antivirus software is essential if you plan on going online, thanks to the proliferation of contaminated advertising iframes, malware-laden spam and drive-by downloads that can affect even the most legitimate, upstanding and popular of websites.The following reviews were based on data gathered in the first six months of 2019. Our reviews pull together data from the respected AV-TEST and AV-Comparatives anti-malware and security testing labs to assess the performance of each antivirus program.They test the software’s ability to correctly identify malicious files and websites, protect against drive-by downloads and avoid false positive detections, where benign software is incorrectly blocked as malicious.Both labs also assess the impact of antivirus software on system performance. In addition to data from these established testing facilities, we test each antivirus suite ourselves to see what it’s like to live with and what features it provides.We’ve summarised the best anti virus solutions for most people but please scroll down to see our full reviews.Best overall: Kaspersky Free Antivirus 19Best built-in: Microsoft Windows DefenderBest for configuration: Bitdefender Antivirus Free EditionGood performance: Avira Free Antivirus 2019Good comprehensiveness: Avast Free AntivirusBest Antivirus for Laptop / Mobile: Comodo Antivirus ($4.99) | 3 License ($9.99) Only.Is Windows Defender any good?While almost all of the antivirus tools we’ve reviewed did a decent job of protecting against malware, Kaspersky Free Antivirus 19 has the most consistently effective malware detection engines we’ve seen in a free product. It also has a minimal impact on system performance.Avira Free Antivirus also put in a perfect detection performance in the latest tests, although AV-Comparatives found it to have a surprisingly heavy impact on system performance when downloading and installing software.If you’d rather not install anything at all, Microsoft‘s integrated Windows Defender is conspicuously hassle free – it works out of the box when you install Windows 10 and performs just as well as most third-party alternatives.1. Kaspersky Free Antivirus 19A perfect choice for free antivirusEmail scanning module | Bootable rescue disk available as separate downloadPros:Outstanding malware detection performancePop-up free silent detection modeLow impact on system loadCons:Lack of dedicated test results for free versionKaspersky Free Antivirus uses the same detection engine as the company’s well-regarded commercial products, which puts it among some of the best performing anti-malware tools around.On installation, you’re asked to agree or opt out of recommended settings that will automatically delete malicious tools, adware, auto-dialers and suspicious packages and detect other software that can be used by criminals to harm your computer or data. You can change these settings at any timeYou’re also prompted to create an account, but you can back out of this as it isn’t required to use the software. Kaspersky Free installs with a 366-day licence that auto-renews when it runs out.The desktop client closely resembles its paid-for counterpart in its clean look and feel, with a main screen that displays your protection status and options to scan your system, update its virus database and open extra tools. A number of other options are greyed out, prompting you to buy one of Kaspersky’s paid-for anti-malware suites if you click on them.Kaspersky Free comes with a browser plugin to check for malicious links in your search results. We were pleased to find that this doesn’t change your default homepage or search engine, although by necessity it requires permission to read all your browser data.File, web, instant messaging, network and mail scanners are included, but you can’t customise or disable any of Kaspersky’s protection settings in this free version. Advanced options allow you to set how paranoid the scanner is, schedule scans and configure the program’s default behaviour and which notifications you get.Unfortunately, this free version of Kaspersky’s software doesn’t make a regular appearance in most anti-malware testing labs’ results. Because of this, we’ve had to rely on performance figures for Kaspersky’s other products using the same engine.While their performance should be the same in both real-world and reference tests, the slight uncertainty resulting from this extrapolated methodology remains our only caveat on what appears to be a perfect choice for free virus protection.Kaspersky’s engine defended against 100% of reference samples and real-world malware exposures across two successive months of trials by AV-TEST and in AV-Comparatives’ test. In AV-Comparatives’ real-world malware exposure tests, it defended against 99% of malware with no false positives.AV-TEST performance data shows that it had a heavier impact on website load times than most rivals, particularly on a low-power Core i3 system. AV-Comparatives’ tests don’t reproduce this, but instead indicate slightly slow first run times for both application launching and file copying.However, both found that, overall, its system performance was less or at least no more obtrusive than most rivals.System requirements:Windows Vista/7/8/8.1/10Requires Intel Atom 1.6GHz or faster1GB RAM920MB free disk space64MB Intel GMA950 video card or betterScreen resolution of at least 1024×600Score: 5/52. Microsoft Windows DefenderWindows’ own built-in protection is actually very goodBuilt into Windows 8/8.1/10 | Available for Windows Vista/7 as Microsoft Security Essentials | Will run on any Windows system | Bootable Windows Defender Offline rescue disk available as separate downloadPros:Excellent Windows 10 interfaceGood malware detection performanceNo need to install third-party softwareCons:System impact isn’t as low as you might expectMicrosoft’s Windows Defender – the default virus protection built into Windows 7 and above – has gone from strength to strength in recent years, and its performance in recent tests by multiple independent firms has been conspicuously good.Its impact on system performance isn’t bad and is likely to be unnoticeable on most PCs. In fact, it slows down website launches noticeably less than most of its rivals. However, using it in favour of third-party software may not provide the kind of performance boost you’d hope for.AV-Comparatives’ performance tests found that every single other free antivirus suite had less of an impact on overall system performance than Windows Defender, which particularly slowed file copying and installation operations. AV-TEST’s results confirm the slow install times, although the firm had fewer issues with file copies.Windows Defender’s appearance and features vary depending on which version of the operating system you’re running it on. Windows 10’s Windows Defender Security Centre opens on a home screen with an overview of your protection status, including when Defender last updated and scanned for malware.It also has dedicated tabs for different features. Virus and threat protection is home to your usual quick, full and custom scans, plus an intensive offline scan mode to tackle hard-to-remove threats. You can manually update virus definitions and enable or disable options such as cloud-based protection and real-time protection – the latter isn’t a good idea.The device performance and health section monitors anything that might go wrong with your system over time and gives you a ‘Fresh start’ option that reinstalls Windows while keeping your files and most settings.The firewall has its own tab where you can open ports, configure notifications and set different settings for private and public networks. App and browser control allows you to set the strictness of Microsoft’s SmartScreen utility, which can warn against or block apps that Microsoft’s remote verification service hasn’t seen before.You can even disable notifications from Defender via the Virus & threat protection settings, giving it a very welcome silent detection mode.Parental controls can be found under Family options. These provide device and account management for children who use Windows devices, allowing you to enable content filtering for the web, control the apps they install and the amount of time they spend in front of the screen.Ransomware protection and file recovery are recently added features which relies on Microsoft OneDrive as a secure backup target, although you only get 5GB of free space by default.Although Windows Defender hasn’t always had the best performance over the years, recent test results have been excellent.In AV-TEST’s latest results, it protected against all reference samples and almost all real-world malware exposure tests over a two month period – slipping to 99.9% in February’s real-world malware exposure test. AV-Comparatives’ real-world tests confirmed the trend, giving Windows Defender an accuracy rate of 100%.Microsoft’s integrated antimalware suite is currently so effective that, unless you need specific features or a slight performance boost, there’s little point in installing third-party antivirus software.System requirements:1 GB RAM or higher500 MB hard disk spaceScreen resolution of at least 800 x 600Score: 4.5/53. Bitdefender Antivirus Free EditionHighly configurable free version of the award-winning Bitdefender AntivirusRuns on Windows 7/8/8.1/10 | Actively scans your system upon installation | Includes file scannerPros:Good malware detection performanceLow false positive rateCons:Lack of dedicated test results for free versionRequires Bitdefender accountBitdefender’s free antivirus suite isn’t as feature-packed as its paid-for siblings, but it uses the same detection engine. Unfortunately, like Kaspersky and Avira’s free offerings, it’s not widely tested as a dedicated free product, which means we’ve had to rely on test results for other Bitdefender products that use the same malware detection engine.After installation – a process that includes a threat scan of your system – you’re prompted to sign in or create a free Bitdefender account to use the software. In a change from our last test of the software, we weren’t able to open the antivirus interface until we’d done so.Bitdefender’s main interface is deliberately and refreshingly simple. A simple window shows whether your protection is up-to-date or not, alongside a button starts a system scan. Unusually, there’s also a box you can drag files and folder into for instant checking, which is very reassuring if you suddenly spot an unexpected or unknown file on your system.A settings menu gives you access to a log of events including scans, updates and detections, as well as quarantined files, websites, files and directories that you wish to exclude from scanning – useful for software developers who don’t want their unfamiliar new files to be flagged as potential threats.There are also options to disable Bitdefender Protection Shield real-time threat monitoring, which we don’t recommend, and, under Account info, to turn off pop-up adverts for Bitdefender’s paid-for products, which we do recommend.Via your Bitdefender account, you get some basic online monitoring of your computer’s protection status and recent threads that the software has defended against. Bitdefender runs in silent mode by default, so it won’t interrupt you while gaming or watching films, and it doesn’t include any extra plugins or modules.Bitdefender’s threat detection provides a good degree of malware protection, although its recent results from different testing firms have varied surprisingly widely.The Bitdefender engine successfully defended against all threats in AV-Comparatives’ latest real-world threat tests. Over at AV-TEST, it defended against 100% of January’s real-world and reference malware sample tests, but its real-world performance dropped to 98.8% in February – a slight disappointment compared to the last tests we covered.False positive detections of legitimate software were consistently low and Bitdefender had only a moderate impact on system performance compared to its rivals in both AV-TEST and AV-Comparatives’ performance tests, mostly when loading websites and downloading files.Despite this, it’s apparent that Bitdefender Antivirus Free Edition is a solid choice for anyone after a simple and effective free protection tool.System requirements:Requires 2GHz Intel Core 2 Duo or better1.5GB RAM, 800MB free disk spaceScore: 4/54. Avira Free Antivirus 2019Proven to offer robust antivirus protectionWorks on Windows 7/8/8.1/10 | Can create bootable rescue disk | Optional free VPNPros:Good malware detection performanceLow false positive rateLow impact on system loadCons:No silent detection mode, so pop-up alerts will interrupt Netflix, games, etcAvira Free Antivirus 2019 is clean and simple bit of software, although we were surprised at its relatively high impact in AV-Comparatives’ latest performance tests, which found significant slowdown when it came to downloading files from the web.However, the core application is efficiently designed. Rather than jamming loads of default features into its client, Avira presents a number of optional extras that you can choose to add at install time or after installing, including a network scanner, a free 500MB-per-month VPN service and system optimisation tools.Avira’s interface is clean and surprisingly compact. It opens on a tab that displays your protection status, which modules are active, plus a couple of adverts for the Avira’s other products.As this is the free version of Avira, some modules are marked as Pro only. You get its core real-time protection module, but not Antivirus Pro’s dedicated Web Protection and Mail Protection tools. Its firewall settings plug directly into Windows’s integrated firewall and are pleasingly easy to use.You can run a variety of full, custom and predefined scans on active processes, local and removable media, but everything is kept simple by design, so there aren’t a lot of other options cluttering the place up.Quarantine and Activity tabs show you what the program has been up to, while Avira’s advanced settings allow you to tweak the behaviour and sensitivity of the scanner, add processes and files you’d like to exclude, and disable audio alerts.Avira Antivirus Free uses the same detection engine as its paid-for siblings, which we’ve referred to for test data.Avira’s engine put in one of just a few perfect protection performances in AV-Comparatives’ most recent test real-world tests, with 100% of malware blocked and no false positives. A separate, more in-depth false alarm test came up with just 4 misidentifications – a good result.AV-TEST also found that Avira protected with 100% accuracy in both real-world and reference malware exposure test, without any false positives, but found that its impact on system performance had worsened slightly compared to previous tests.System requirements:1GHz Intel Pentium 4 or better1GB RAM2GB free disk spaceScore: 4/55. Avast Free AntivirusClear data collection policy with easy opt outEmail scanning module | Can create bootable rescue disk | Windows XP SP2/Vista/7 SP1/8/8.1/10Pros:Effective detection of drive-by download malwarePop-up free silent detection modeClear, modern interfaceCons:Higher false positive incidence than some rivalsDefault install options include software you may not wantAvast’s free anti-malware suite is comprehensive and generally performs well. It shares its underlying detection engine with AVG, which Avast bought in 2016. However, the clients are different and we occasionally see minor performance differences in tests, usually dependent on the way each program requests user interaction when threats are detected.In Avast’s case, it’s very important to always opt to view custom settings during installation and setup. Specifically, you’ll want to opt out of the Avast SafePrice price comparison browser extension and prevent the Avast Secure Browser from taking over as your PC’s default web browser and launching automatically at login, unless you really want that to happen.The default installation options also include a rather more helpful Online Security plugin for other browsers, which scans websites for malware and blocks ad trackers, and a built-in password manager, although we recommend using a dedicated tool for that.Avast is refreshingly upfront about its data collection policy – antivirus software typically collects information on its users’ habits and malware exposure as a matter of course – and clearly tells you how to opt out.The software has a clean interface that follows Windows 10’s Modern UI style, with a main screen that shows your protection status and a one-button smart scan feature. Other features are available in the client’s Protection, Privacy and Performance tabs.As you’d expect, you can run a variety of full and partial virus scans; view previously detected viruses; enable and disable Avast’s automatic file, web and mail scanning; scan your network for potential vulnerabilities, and create a rescue disk in case malware prevents your system from booting correctly at any point.Avast has both a Do Not Disturb feature, which will prevent pop-ups when specified programs are running in full-screen mode, and its usual Silent mode, which prevents it from ever showing any pop-ups.The program has a free, automatically renewing licence, and you can optionally connect it to an Avast account. The client shows unobtrusive adverts and extra feature buttons that promote the company’s paid-for products, which include a firewall, data shredder and system cleanup utility.Avast’s advanced settings let you add URLs that you’d rather it never scan, have it scan for annoying-but-not-malicious unwanted programs, disable sound alerts and enable the program’s extra-paranoid Hardened mode.Everyone tests Avast’s free antivirus product, which means that there are plenty of highly relevant test lab results to refer to. It detected 100% of AV-TEST’s real-world malware threats and reference samples over a two-month period, with just two false positive detections of legitimate software.It also did well in AV-Comparatives’ real-world tests, defending against 99.7% of malware delivered online, but with a slightly disappointing 15 false positive detections. Alongside AVG, it’s almost the lowest-impact free antivirus suites available right now.It’s a bit of a faff to install due to the potentially unwanted extensions it selects by default, and it came a little high on false positives, but Avast is certainly well equipped to defend your PC against threats, despite a few minor quality-of-life issues.System requirements:Requires Intel Pentium 4AMD Athlon 64 or better256MB RAM2 GB free disk spaceScore: 3.5/56. AVG AntiVirus FreeIncludes built-in file shredder to destroy infected foldersEmail scanning module | Bootable rescue disk available as separate download | Windows XP SP3/Vista/7/8/8.1/10Pros:Pop-up free silent detection modeEffective detection of drive-by download malwareCons:Higher false positive incidence than some rivalsDefault install options include software you may not wantSince 2016, AVG has been owned by Avast, and both use the same virus databases and detection engines. This is reflected in their very similar performances in testing, although there are minor differences to their default behaviour, particularly when requesting user interaction, which can make a critical difference.Their performance in recent tests is virtually identical, but AVG lacks a couple of convenience features, such an integrated rescue disk creator. The AVG rescue disk, to be used in case malware renders your PC unbootable, is a separate download.Like Avast, it’s a good idea to customise your options at install time, specifically to remove the SafePrice browser extension, which is a money-making price comparison tool that’ll pop up every time to try to shop for anything. You may also want to opt out of installing the AVG Secure Browser if you’re happy with your current browser security. If you do install it, be aware that its Express Settings will set it as your default browser and have it open automatically when you log in to your PC.AVG AntiVirus’s grey and green interface gives you a quick overview showing your protection status, the time of your last scan and update, a quick scan button, plus a relatively unobtrusive advert for AVG’s paid-for Internet Security software and some inactive buttons showing features that you’ll get if you shell out for it.AVG Free gives you critical real-time protection and scheduled and on-demand scanning, but the client also shows you which paid features you’re missing, such a firewall, encryption and anti-phishing tools. You can also optionally associate AVG with an online account and add extra paid-for features including a VPN and password manager if you want them.Extra settings and options are available via a menu at the top right of the client, including access to your quarantined files and a file shredder to unrecoverably delete things .You can enable a pop-up free silent mode if you’d rather not be bothered when your antivirus detects anything, disable email signatures marking emails sent from a desktop email client as scanned, and individually customise the sensitivity and behaviour of AVG’s email, web, software and real-time scanning components. You can also individually uninstall each of these components, but we wouldn’t recommend it.We’ve included test results for AVG’s other products that use the same engine in our assessment of its performance results from major anti-malware test labs. During its most recent two-month test period, AV-TEST found that AVG products detected 100% of real-world malware attacks via the web and 100% of a large set of reference samples.AV-Comparatives reports similar results, with AVG Free detecting 99.7% of real-world malware samples. However, it incorrectly detected 15 legitimate programs as malware in AV-Comparatives’ dedicated false positive test.Like sibling Avast, AVG has a only small performance impact on most systems. However, we’d prefer it if both of them dispensed with the practices of automatically installing potentially unwanted browser extensions like SafePrice.System requirements:Requires Intel Pentium 1.5GHz or faster512MB RAM/1GB RAM (Windows Vista and above)1.2 GB free disk spaceScore: 3.5/5How to I buy antivirus software?The key element of any antivirus software is its detection engine, which uses a combination of known signatures of malicious software and heuristic analysis of a program or file’s traits and behaviour to establish whether it’s potentially dangerous or not.Detection engines are at the core of most antivirus companies’ business, and you’ll generally find that a company’s free products use the same engines as their paid-for versions. Paid products justify their cost with extra features such as firewalls and system optimisation toolsModern antivirus software constantly monitors your PC and scans software, files and websites in real time to detect potential threats, but you can usually still run manual and scheduled scans for extra peace of mind.Most AV programs run an optimised scan by default that checks the files most likely to have been compromised.How does Trusted Reviews test antivirus software?We’ve used test data on a per-engine basis, rather than an identical product basis, so, for example, we’ve used results from Kaspersky Internet Security to help draw conclusions about the Kaspersky Free, which uses the same engine.The test data we’ve used was collected between January and May 2019, using the most up-to-date versions of the antivirus software available. AV-TEST carries out both real-world tests, in which systems are exposed to contaminated websites and emails, and reference set tests, in which several thousand malicious files collected in the previous four weeks are introduced to the system.AV-Comparatives carries out a wide range of different, discrete tests. In this review, we’ve used the firm’s real-world test results, which involve live exposure to malicious websites that attempt drive-by downloads, as well as its dedicated false positive and performance tests.In all cases, we’ve directly quoted the percentage or number of malware exposures successfully defended against in tests, as well as performance metrics and false positive test results, in which any blocking of benign software is noted.It’s worth noting that there can be fairly dramatic performance differences from month to month. This depends on a given antivirus package’s ability to detect the malware that’s prevalent at any given point and the speed with which its signature database and heuristic detection rules are updated to reflect current malware.AV-TEST and AV-Comparatives’ performance tests assess the impact of different antivirus suites on a number of common desktop tasks, such as downloading and installing applications, launching programs, copying files and visiting popular websites.The price of free antivirusWhile you don’t have to hand over any cash to use free antivirus software, its makers have to fund their business somehow. This manifests in a number of different ways. Some products, such as Avira, show unobtrusive adverts, while others are paid to bundle software and services from other vendors with their product’s installer or web browser plugins.Any product that’s available in paid-for, as well as free, versions, will encourage to upgrade with varying degrees of persistence, with some including buttons for features that are only active for paid users in their main interface.Many free AV providers encourage users to register for free accounts by providing online monitoring tools that you can use to manage and secure other devices associated with the same account, such as phones and tablets.Our reviews detail any intrusive advertising or promotional features in each free AV suite and, where possible, tell you how to avoid them.Antivirus software also, by default, reports back to its manufacturer when it encounters unknown malicious and even benign files. This data gathering is an important function of free antivirus suites as far as their creators are concerned.In practice, it means that the malware databases the software relies on are kept constantly up to date, helping to protect all its users and making both paid-for and free versions more accurate.Before trying to conceive, it's recommended to estimate your ovulation with an online ovulation tool/calendar.

Here’s one. I do not know how to add the PDF of the letter mentioned. I wrote this back in 2010. Thanks…Summer 2010Just thought it poignant on this Memorial Day weekend that I forward to you all a letter I found about a year ago while going through my mother’s papers. This will take some back ground information so you all will know who the author is, my Dad, and what, when, and why it was composed.I apologize for the quality of the PDF. And, the first sentence of the second page has been cut off as my Mom, who copied it, was not ‘hardware savvy’. The dates are correct. It was written before most of us were born.BACKGROUND.My mom was a Captain in the US Army Air Corps. She was part of the 13th Air Wing stationed on Luzon, Philippines prior to the outbreak of WWII. She was an (Texas) Upshur County farm girl who threw a newspaper route after high school to earn the $14.95 tuition for Nurses training at Parkland Hospital in Dallas. The student nurses worked their way through the training as nurses and after three years received their Registered Nurse certificate. This type of training is not available for RN’s anymore as you must have a BS for RN credentials, but, we are talking about Pre WWII Texas. My Mom worked and trained many days in the Parkland Hospital emergency room where, when shot, they took President Kennedy. Unknown to her at the time, this training in the ER would serve her well in the very near future. After gaining her RN, she enlisted in the US Army, went to the then equivalent of OCS (Officers Candidate School) for women and came out a Second Lieutenant making $30 a month. After her OCS graduation, the Army gave her 10 days leave and then sent her to the Philippines. While in Manila, at the Officer’s club one night she met an artillery Captain, Captain Daniel W. Jopling. Mom was an AIR MEDIVAC MASH nurse as popularized by the TV show of the same name. She was one of 16 female, American military personnel assigned to the Philippines under the command of General MacArthur, and upon his departure, General Wainwright. She flew to all US held Philippine air fields and on many occasions came under enemy attack from Japanese air craft. She was one of 16 American females among 30 to 40 thousand US soldiers. Many times she mentioned to me that during the ordeal she was about to endure, patients would grab her arm and ask for forgiveness at merely wanting to touch an American female. So many of these wounded soldiers were touching one for the very last time.To capsulate Moms experience in the Philippines, she and her nurses, she was Chief Nurse, spent their time after the bombing of Pearl Harbor caring for soldiers wounded in combat. The Japanese forces invaded Luzon shortly after the Pearl event and simply pushed the ill equipped and under supplied American forces down the island of Luzon onto the Bataan Peninsula, where she and her nurses escaped to the island of Corregidor. Early in the attack, they were put on ½ rations, then shortly after, ¼ rations. After this, it was eat what you could find. I can remember during many Christmas dinners, Mom would become a bit sullen and recant that the meal we were eating was excellent, but paled in comparison to the Christmas meal she was awarded at the mouth of the Mylantan Tunnel, where the hospital housed on Corregidor Island. The meal was ½ can of military pork and beans with some ketchup. A feast in the midst of the chaos of war. Mom weighed 90 pounds at that time.On Corregidor they stayed and worked in the Mylantan Tunnel until one evening. Abruptly she was ordered to gather her nurses and assemble at the mouth of the tunnel to be evacuated. Under objection, she still had patients in the surgical ward where she would cut them open for surgery and ‘suture’ them back up with communications wire as they had no sutures, she complied as ordered. The 13 nurses were allowed one small bag and the clothes on their backs and all of them climbed aboard a jeep. Yes, all 13 in one vehicle. The jeep was driven down an irrigation ditch and into the sea, then, they swam to an inflatable raft which was staffed by two sailors. The raft was rowed out to another small craft where they were helped aboard. When the Japanese shore batteries saw them, they immediately opened fire at them with shore based cannon. The craft motored out of the light of the city of Manila and out into the choppy waters of Manila bay where they boarded the USS SPEARFISH submarine and it quickly submerged. The submarine, under orders of the Captain, sank to the bottom of Manila Bay where it stayed motionless and silent for the next 23 hours. The SPEARFISH was giving the Imperial Japanese Navy the old Upshur County, Texas version of ‘playing possum’. All other US personnel, military and civilian left ashore that night spent the next 4 years as Japanese Prisoners of War, or, as ‘guests of the Imperil Japanese Army’ as Japanese General Houma referred to them. You can now “GOOGLE” the name USS SPEARFISH and see the microfilm of the Captain’s log. They were declassified in the 1980’s and recently put on the internet. I believe in the log of Patrol #3 the captain describes picking them up and lists their names. Mom’s name at the time was Lucy Wilson. Her name is there. This is a not a story composed to entertain. It is the truth. They stayed submerged for weeks until they could run underneath the Japanese blockade and reach Australia which was in allied hands. During the weeks of the escape all 13 nurses had one bucket of water for all them for drinking and personal cleanliness. The food they ate was what the sailors could share. Many times she mentioned many of these brave men forwent their meals so these women could eat. And yes, many of them asked to hold their hands as this might be their last opportunity to touch an American female. No bunks were available and they slept in shifts atop the engine compartment in the heat. Only when submerged did the diesel engines get shut down the temperature aboard the submarine become reduced. Before her death, Mom took us on a tour of the USS SEAWOLF in Galveston, Texas. The SPEARFISH (SS-190) and SEAWOLF (SS-197) are both the same SARGO class warships. She walked us through the small cramped submarine and showed us the stuffy, hot ‘cabin’ above the engines where they lived and slept during the 17 day trip back to Australia. The SPEARFISH had to stay submerged during daylight as they were in enemy held waters and the slow moving submarine would be an easy target for any well gunned Japanese war ship. At that time, the SPEARFISH made 3 knots ahead speed while submerged. The sub only came up during the night to run the diesel engines long enough to recharge the batteries they would need for forward progress during the next day.For her actions, Mom was awarded a Distinguished Flying Cross and eight bronze stars, two of which have “V” valor devices, and about 15 other medals. The valor devices are awarded to recipients whose actions earn the Star in combat scenarios. The other medals are too numerous to list here. She had escaped the Japanese with her thirteen nurses. Dad was less fortunate.Dan Jopling of Ft. Sumner, New Mexico, earned a business degree from a college in San Diego, California and joined the New Mexico National Guard because his buddy, and soon to be brother- in-law, had joined. Plus, the extra $3 dollars a month added a tidy sum to the duos beer budget. Dad had a college degree and was able to take a correspondence school mail order course to earn his commission as an officer in the US Army. His soon to be brother in-law, my Uncle Bill Carr had no such degree. Three weeks after receiving his commission, the US Army cancelled this program which was never reinstated. He beat a deadline that unknown to him at the time, played a small role in saving his life. When the clouds of war were darkening over the USA, President Roosevelt called all reservists, National Guard Units and furloughed soldiers back to active duty. My grandfather knew one of the US Army Generals in Albuquerque where Dad had been called to active duty. My grandfather was a tailor and made the generals clothes. This general, as a favor to my Granddad, hired my Dad to be his aide as Dad could take short hand dictation and use a type writer. When his unit, the 200thCoast Artillery, was given orders to go to the Philippines, my Dad objected to the general that he had not received the same orders to go overseas with his buddies. The general questioned my Dad hard on this issue as the General knew the Philippines were in dire danger. If war did break out, there was no way to resupply or remove any expeditionary force that far away from American soil as the USA did not have a suitable naval task force to accomplish such a large and lengthy task. And, President Roosevelt had committed all available war stuffs to the war in Europe. The US Navy, as well as the US Army, was not ready for war. Once deployed and hostilities began, they would be completely cut off and on their own. However, my Dad won his orders to go. So, instead of spending the Second World War in the US drinking beer and training other men to be artillery soldiers, he would fall to the Japanese and be a POW 4 months later. He reported to Luzon at 220 pounds. He was weighed 4 years later in Seoul, South Korea at 85 pounds, but he claimed this was inaccurate because they had been eating peaches dropped to them in 55 gallon drums by US bombers. And, for the first time in 42 months, they had been eating meat. Close to the prison camp was a rice field where as prisoners, the men watched an old North Korean farmer plow his rice field with the help of what my Dad called a Caribou. The starved men dreamed of barbequing the old caribou and eating it. Once liberated, they immediately dispatched a detail to capture the old work horse and bring it into camp for the feast. They were still staying inside the camp as they believed this was the safest place for the men so as to avoid any Japanese Army or Korean civilian reprisals. Unfortunately, no man or group of men had the strength to take an ax and kill the animal. They had to cut the animal’s jugular and let it bleed to death. Once expired, it was butchered, roasted and eaten.It is clear to me, without the atomic bombs being dropped in Japan, the men in this camp would not have survived if the planned, conventional amphibious invasion of Japan by the allies had taken place. Simply, without the two atom bombs being dropped over Japan and the war brought to a swift end, you would not be reading this as I would not be here. Yes the bombs were horrific. ‘WAR IS HELL’. However, the lives saved by these two bombs were mostly American. Never in my life will I believe the use of the atomic bombs was ‘overkill’ of an already defeated foe. One merely needs to review the accounts of the fanaticism of the Japanese Army and civilians during the Guadalcanal, Iwo Jima and Bougainville campaigns to gain a full appreciation of how this foe could delay the liberation of the prison camps. Dad often mentioned he believed all of the POW’s had about 6 more weeks to live at best. They were given no rations, none. They were given no medical care, none. Many men lost their lives and eyes to conjunctivitis, simple pink eye. 42 months of starvation, lack of water, exposure and heavy labor had taken their toll. Well over eighty per cent of their original task force was dead and of those repatriated, 25% of those men later died in hospital. In contrast, once captured and interred by Hitler’s German Army, the WEHRMACHT, only 3% perished. You can do the math here. Dad was interred with over 40,000 US soldiers.The letter you are about to read was written by Dad and you will see signed by himself and Mom. It shows the signature of “Lucy Jopling” so it must have been written after their marriage. Dad spent 5 years in the hospital in San Francisco after returning to the US and would go AWOL (military for Absent Without Leave) to chase Lucy Wilson around the USA trying to convince her to marry him. This wasn’t easy as the old Upshur County farm girl had clear, hard prerequisites for a spouse and many of the traits demonstrated by Captain Jopling didn’t fit the mold even though he was rich with 4 years back combat pay totaling some $14,000 USD. Many times Mom told me he would give her $100 dollars (three months pay) to return to Big Sandy, Texas by herself only to realize, when she arrived, Captain Jopling had beaten her back to that farm in East Texas to be there when she appeared to continue his soliloquy on the many benefits of becoming his bride. Once, upon convincing him to return to San Francisco to continue his treatment and that she was not ready to marry, he did not call her for three weeks. He had suffered a relapse of Malaria and had been taken delirious and blue by ambulance to the hospital from the Dallas airport. For three weeks, the US ARMY nor Lucy Wilson knew of the whereabouts of Captain Jopling. This event would repeat itself later in her life when, after fathering three children, then Major Jopling disappeared for six weeks in South Korea during the police action there.After their return state side the US Army awarded all POW’s six weeks of leave at any state side hotel. This was totally free. Of course Dad was in the hospital and couldn’t use the benefit. This lasted until the Army started getting liquor bills from the hotels and cancelled the ‘free booze’ portion of the benefit. When Dad did finally convince Lucy to marry, they honeymooned in San Francisco and used this benefit. Two weeks into the honeymoon, Dad had another relapse of malaria and yellow fever. Mom, being a nurse laid out instructions to return to the hospital for treatment. Dad’s response to this idea was that after four years of eating cockroaches that were farmed and collected from camp latrines, crickets, grasshoppers and snakes and crickets captured during work details and dandelions pulled and stuffed into what was left of trousers and shirts to be boiled in seawater to make soup, he was going to enjoy the 6 weeks free time or die. He almost died. After turning blue and delirious from the malaria, Mom called the military hospital and the Army medics came and carted him off to hospital.Standing in that hotel hallway, after the medics had bundled Dad up on the gurney and hauled him down the hall to the elevator, Mom, watching the elevator doors close, began to cry. She was scared. After watching thousands of American soldiers die, after being starved and shot at by Japanese fighters and artillery, Capt. Lucy I. Jopling was filled with fear. Strangely, what caused her tears was the fear of not having a safe, secure place to stay. (with US Army soldiers surrounding her for the previous 4 years, she never felt alone or in any real danger) She would have to leave the hotel as Dad was not there. She had little or no money and Dad was delirious and could not recognize her. She was a thousand miles from the small east Texas farm where her Mother was tending a stroke riddled husband. She had no money to return to the farm and no means to stay and ensure her new husband would live through the night. Upon hearing her sob, a passerby, an employee of the hotel stopped and asked Mom as to the reason for her tears. Mom could only muster one simple sentence. Now, in a full tilt sob and heavy tears, she could only mutter, “I have no place to stay.” This lady, this ‘passerby’ quickly and heartily solved Mom’s problem. “Yes you do honey” quipped the lady. “You’re staying with me. Let’s get your things and get you home and settled right now!” I cannot imagine the humanity of this woman. Mom stayed with this lady for several weeks until Dad had regained his senses and was able to get the paper work through the US Army benefits structure so the US Paymaster would recognize Mom as Dad’s wife. Later, upon having three children and the Jopling’s still living in San Francisco, this lady was called upon many times to baby sit and supervise the Jopling children. I am embarrassed I cannot remember her name. Upon her death in San Francisco in 1973, Mom sent me a check for a few hundred dollars from a law firm in California. This was the final settlement of this lady’s estate. This passerby, this Christian lady working in a hotel in California in1946 who had opened her home to a total stranger had willed all of her earthly belongings to Suzanne, Michele, and Pat Jopling. The sons and daughter of a total stranger she met in a hotel hallway some 25 years earlier.During the time Dad was in the hospital in San Francisco is when I believe this letter was composed. Note the repeated requests to have the letter destroyed as the hospital staff was under strict orders from General MacArthur to censor anything that might show the American people the truth about what their sons AND DAUGHTERS had been through as Japanese POWs. All POW mail was heavily censored before it left the hospital. General MacArthur was tasked to rebuild Japan and he did not want any state side provided political ‘backlash’ to hamper his efforts. If we consider Japan and their position in the world today, I believe we can say the General did his job well. This is only one of the great things this great man did. Upon seeing the Japanese ‘prison camps’ in the Philippines and Japan, the condition of the prisoners, General MacArthur issued clear orders protecting all US Army internees. Those standing orders by the then five star General of the Army protected my Dad the rest of his life. Certainly, going AWOL several times a year was not behavior becoming an Officer of the US Army. General MacArthur had seen war and what war does to men and women. Also, he had seen firsthand what the Japanese had done to his men. In his personal notes after his death, it was discovered one of the General’s remaining life’s ambitions after the War was to see to it that both groups of men would never harm one another again. The killing was over, the atrocities and hatred was to be stopped. He also made sure General Wainwright, who was Dad’s boss on Luzon and who had also suffered as a POW at the hands of General Houma, was on board the USS Missouri for the signing of the surrender by the Japanese. He made sure General Wainwright received a pen from the ceremony. It is very easy to identify General Wainwright in the films of the event. He is the man in the starched khaki uniform that appears three sizes too large for his body as they had no uniform aboard ship small enough to properly fit his emaciated torso.The letter was written to my Mom’s parents as they had not heard from him in quite some time. Also, the “Ag” he refers to is his mother, my grandmother, Agnes Jopling. The “EIGHT BALL” he mentions is the odd, black ball in billiards. Mr. Wata survived the war and was tried and hung for crimes against humanity. Lt. Tachino was killed in action against US forces. General Houma also survived the war and was tried for war crimes and crimes against humanity and hung. The pictures from the US aircraft that sunk the first prison ship Dad was on (Oryoku Maru) are now in the US Library of Congress archive and have been shown on the TV military channel. You can also now “GOOGLE” the name of the ship and see the listing of the men that were put aboard. Dan Jopling, Ft. Sumner, New Mexico is there. The combat photographs from the AVENGER air plan that sunk the ship show the burning sinking ship, men swimming in the water, planes attacking and firing their machine guns at the ship and the Japanese soldiers on the shore firing at the men in the water. And, somewhere in these photographs, is my father.I will refer you to books on Billibid Prison, Cabanatuan Prison, Camp O’Donnell Prison, Japanese Hell Ships, Angels of the Philippines, Corregidor and Bataan Death March and the ship’s logs of USS Spearfish and the Oryoku Maru. My mom and dad are listed as credits in many of these texts as dad was in all of these prisons and ships, he was in the Bataan Death March and mom was a nurse on the Bataan peninsula and on the island of Corregidor during the conflict.Here is the web link to the USS SPEARFISH Captain’s Log. Mom’s name is listed on page 73 of 489 of the microfilm reel, in the third War Patrol. [Original page number -17- of War Patrol 3] I can’t remember, but I believe, in one report in this microfilm reel from the Pacific Theater operations center that was sent back down the chain of command, a rubber stamped signature caught my attention. It was remarkable feed back to the submarine commanders from their commander and it startled me at its stark, clear, aggressive tone. It was stamped W.F. Halsey. [note: W. F. “Bull” Halsey was later to be named Fleet Commander, South Pacific]http://issuu.com/hnsa/docs/ss-190_spearfish?mode=a_pOne last note on Dad’s experience aboard the Oryoku Maru (sunk by American forces as he describes) which I believe shows the brilliance of my mother’s mother, Granny Wilson and my Dad. Soon after Mom had gotten word to Granny the she was not ‘MISSING IN ACTION, PRESUMED DEAD’ as the US Army had reported to Granny, Mom told Granny about Dad and asked if there was any word state side about the internees. Certainly, there had been none, but Granny now had a contact to write to in a vain attempt at obtaining any information about Dad to be passed along to Mom. Mom was still in Australia. My Grandmother (Agnes Jopling) had indeed gotten word via the RED CROSS that Dad was alive and ‘Well’ in Billibid Prison in the Philippines. (Internees were dying at a rate of 500 aday at Billibid) Granny “Ag” had sent information to Granny Wilson as to how best to get ‘Christmas Gifts’ to the internees. I cannot understand the dilemma both women shared. What do you send to men who are Japanese Prisoners of War? Granny Wilson’s answer was as swift and as shrewd as the east Texas farm girl she was. The gift was to be a bottle of vitamins. Unbelievably, at Billibid Prison in the Philippines the bottle of vitamins made it to him. Dad took ½ of one tablet, shared the other ½ with his buddy GAMBLE, (also from New Mexico) and the rest of the vitamins went quickly to the camp hospital. Dad however, saved the bottle and amazingly, this little bottle would later help save his life. Dad’s buddy, Gamble, John D., didn’t make it back to US soil. You can see his name engraved in stone, along with Dad’s, on the Bataan Memorial in Santa Fe, New Mexico.Once aboard the Oryoku Maru and at anchor in Manila Bay, (see Dad’s explanation of the ship), Dad positioned himself close to the hold in an attempt to get air. This was a precarious place to be as the Japanese soldiers would remove the cover and fire their weapons down into the hold of the ship to quiet the men screaming for water and air. Once quieted down and at anchor, he looked down in the hold and saw the bamboo container, two decks down where the water was kept. He removed shoe strings from dead comrades and fashioned a fishing line. At the end of the line, he tied the empty little vitamin bottle and sat by the hold all night dipping water out of the tub and fished it back to his lap where he had a canteen cup. In 8 hours he dipped enough water to fill the canteen cup ½ full of the brackish water and this he shared with this buddy, Gamble, from New Mexico. That night was a rather rough night in Manila bay. As both men attempted to sleep on the hot, horse manure covered steel floor of the deck, his buddy kept rolling with the waves onto Dad and Dad would gently roll him off. The next morning, when the Japanese opened the cover of the hold and Dad’s eyes adjusted to the light, he realized his buddy (Gamble) was dead. Each morning aboard the ship, before the day’s rations were sent down via the ship’s crane, they would lower a flat platform at the end of the crane’s cable. It went to the bottom hold cargo way then would come up to the next stopping at each deck for a few minutes so the living prisoners could fill the platform with the dead so they could be removed from the hold. When the platform was full or it made its way to the top deck, the platform was raised above the ship’s side rail, swung out over board and dumped into the sea. A Japanese style ‘burial at sea’ for the deceased Americans. At first light, when the platform came to the deck where Dad had sat dipping water the previous night, Dad loaded John D. Gamble, onto the platform and said goodbye to his friend of over 20 years and then watched as the platform was lifted up and out of the ships hold. Once the ship was moved to Subic Bay and while on the voyage to Japan, the Japanese no longer allowed the removal of the dead Americans. Simply, they had no means of disposal other than dumping them in the sea. And, they thought this dangerous as an astute allied submarine captain could merely follow the trail of dead bodies to the ship. (see Dad’s explanation of this.) So, during the entire voyage, they had to pile the bodies up in the hold while they decomposed. Also, please note the day’s rations for the men in the hold was a handful of uncooked rice and a handful of brown sugar. No water was rationed.As you will read in the letter, Dad was wounded when the US airplanes sunk the Oryoku Maru. He and about 2,000 US prisoners were aboard. In his letter he will tell you how many of them actually completed the trip to Japan. During this attack he had bomb and deck fragments go through his left hand and lodge in his left cheek just under his left eye. He died with American bullet shrapnel in his face. Thus wounded he had to swim in the sea back to the beach while dodging rifle rounds being shot at them from the Japanese soldiers on the beach. The Japanese thought the men were trying to escape capture instead of trying to escape a sinking ship. I can remember years later while Dad would drive his 4 offspring to sporting events or church, he would grip the car’s steering wheel with his left hand. And, you could clearly see the outline of the three knuckles remaining as the forth knuckle had been blown away by American war planes. These injuries almost cost him his life. Once in Japan, with the arm fully infected and full of puss, he could not bend his elbow or move his fingers. The arm merely stuck out as ‘stiff branch’ at a 30 degree angle form his body. Still, being in this condition, everyday he would volunteer for tree cutting duty outside the camp’s walls. He did so as the tree cutting detail would get back to camp and report for head counts later than any other prison work detail. This was very important. This meant that the soup that was prepared from ‘food items’ (see above) as gathered by the men in the camp would be almost gone and the soup portions saved for the tree cutters was ‘the bottom of the pot’ and this contained more of the ‘solids’ from the soup. Also, the tree cutters brought back more snakes, bugs, leaves and grass to put in the pot. To be ‘approved’ for the detail, the soldiers had to march in front of a Japanese Lieutenant and the American doctor. Either men could force a volunteer to fall out of line and not be allowed to go outside the wire. The Japanese Captain could care less who went. The American doctor was a bit more selective and one day seeing Dad walk with his arm stuck out, told Dad to fall out. Undeterred, Dad simply went to the end of the line and started out again. Again, as he passed in front of the American doctor, the Doctor once again told Dad to fall out and report to the “dispensary”. Dad did so.The dispensary was a grass enclosure where what medical equipment the men made was kept. Scalpels were sharp bamboo shards that were dipped in hot sea water prior to use. Upon reporting, the doctor asked three corps men to hold Dad. He objected and told the doctor he would not fight or pull back from treatment. The doctor told Dad that it was not to restrain him from flinching from pain but to hold him up so when he fainted so he would not fall and injure himself even more. Now agreeing, the three men held Dad by the underarms. The physician took the bamboo scalpel, ‘sterilized’ it in hot sea water and took Dad’s hand in his. He told him that he should remove the middle finger but would leave the final decision on the finger for later. He incised Dad’s wrist and made a cut that went down the back of his hand, around the missing knuckle, up through and around the middle of the palm on the other side of the hand and back up to the wrist. Being thus opened, the doctor clasped Dad’s arm with both his hands under his armpit and squeezed it tightly, then he ‘milked’ the poison out of Dad’s arm down and out through the incision. The doctor did this several times. Yes, Dad fainted and was taken to the infirmary and laid down on one of the grass mats. When he came to, he could move his arm and hand. This saved Dad’s arm, hand, middle finger and assuredly, his life. This physician saved many men’s life’s and limbs over his three and one half year term as a Prison Camp Doctor. He died of malaria 4 months before the 90 year old Japanese Commandant of the camp turned over his sword and surrendered the camp to the ranking allied officer after Japan’s surrender. The Japanese Commandant, as ordered, told the ranking allied officer where he could find the white paint needed to paint the letters “POW” on the roofs of the buildings of the camp, then retired to his office and committed hari-kari. The white letters were to assist allied pilots in locating the POW camps so as to accelerate the relief efforts to the ex-prisoners. The pilots would air drop food stuffs to the men as really, there were none to be obtained outside the confines of the camp, save that one old caribou.I forget how I learned of this incident from Dad. I really can’t remember. But, after the surrender the men started to receive radio messages and then ‘fly by’s’ from US airplanes. Basically they were told to stay put and make do until relief forces could make it to them. Shortly after painting the white “POW” letters on the roofs of their huts, they began to see US planes do low fly bys and ‘wiggle’ their wings at the men in acknowledgement of their being located by allied forces. Dad remembered the glee in seeing the first us airplane in 4 years. The prisoners were amazed at their designs and speed. The final camp he was in was in North Korea by the sea. They were mining coal for the Japanese plants in Japan and they would dig and load the coal onto rail road carts and then push them down to the beach where the coal ships would pick up the coal and take it to Japan. Upon liberation, and seeing US relief planes, the men made larger POW letters on the beach. This was to enhance the fly bys and the dropping of food to the men. Their first drop of food was almost fatal. The men were on the beach fishing when a large US plane flew over and banked. It turned and made a lower pass over the beach and wagged its wings, banked again and made another pass over the men on the beach. They looked up and saw relief packages floating down to them. Chaos erupted on the beach as each man began to trail a package down through the sky in an attempt to be the first to catch one and enjoy its contents. The little dots in the sky became larger and larger as they descended. Finally, upon seeing what was going on, Dad yelled for the men to take cover immediately. They all dove under the coal rail cars just in time to have the “packages’ hit the beach. The ‘packages’ were 55 gallon drums full of peaches. Twenty of them. It would have been a sad testament to live through 42 months of Japanese captivity only to be killed by 55 gallon drum of fruit dropped from the sky. The men ate until they could not walk, literally. That night, they slept on the beach to guard the drums from being stolen as they were too weak to move them. All the men had to sleep standing up as when they laid down, they could not breathe.Today, as I pen this note to you all, we have thirteen new, male and female, heroic soldiers that have given their lives for our freedom at Fort Hood, Texas. Thirteen new heroes resting deep in the loving soil of our Mother State of Texas.Please remember these fallen heroes, and when you can, assist and support those who remain alive in service to us and to our freedom as we know it in American today.May God bless and protect each of them.